Eastern promise - emirate to adopt green building strategy

The Arab Emirate of Sharjah has announced plans to introduce building regulations that will require developers to meet certain environmental standards when constructing both commercial and residential properties.

The plans, which will be launched in January next year, were announced by the city state's assistant director-general for government projects, sultan Al Mulla at the Sharjah Urban Planning Symposium on Sunday.

The Sultan said that green standards were being adopted in many parts of the world and the Sharjah government intended to stay at the forefront of good practice.

The announcement will be seen as good news for the global players in the construction sector, as the UAE is one of the few areas where big building projects are still carrying on apace, as yet largely unaffected by the global recession.

The standards will look at pollution reduction, environment protection, energy efficiency, water conservation and the use of renewable energy and recycled products.